The Curious Case of Jay Bouwmeester....

This is not a movie with Brad Pitt or a Hollywood story that will have a happy ending, or will it have the famous happy ending?

The Curious Case of Jay Bouwmeester is simple and complicated all at the same time. Why is it so simple? Well, this smooth-skating defenseman his in the last year of his contract.

Why is it also complicated? Because it seems like Jay does not want to re-sign with his team the Florida Panthers for a few more seasons. What to do with the man who plays 27 minutes and 11 seconds per game???

What is making this situation so interesting is that the trade deadline is coming really soon and the Panthers will have some decisions to make: to trade or not to trade Bouwmeester? That is the question!!!!

Here are the options for the team:

1- You try to re-sign the player and if you can do this before the deadline you can avoid that famous question of trading him.

2- Even you are in the middle of a playoff race you decide, because you simply can't sign him, to trade him for a draft pick and maybe one or two average player. Something that might not sit too well with your fans???

3- You decide to keep him even if you might lose him for nothing next summer.

Decision time for the Panthers is not something I would like to be involved with.

Now if you are a team looking to trade for Bouwmeester, what are you getting in this player?

Well, Jay Bouwmeester is a slick skater, a very mobile defense man and a player that will eat up minutes of ice time and gives you his best every single time he his on the ice.

A team who can acquire a player like that will automatically become a better team!! Only one little knock on him: he does not have any playoff experience. I personally think this argument can be thrown out the window!!!

He has plenty of international experiences like the world championship who can be consider playoff hockey atmosphere. So for those who believe that lack of playoff experience is a problem in his case, you are wrong!

Now offers are probably already on the table as far as a trade for "Jay-Bou" is concerned and there might be ongoing talks of a contract extensions for him with the Panthers??

But at the end of trade deadline day, whether he is traded or not, the team that will have this young man on it's roster will be a better team. Even if he stays with the Panthers...